Brawl Quest, the new game from Philippino studio ThinkBIT, offers a colourful take on arcade beat-‘em-ups. Now it’s out on Android and iOS, here are five excellent reasons to join in with its cartoon fisticuffs.

Cool visual style

Instead of going down the predictable pixel-art route, the developers have chosen a more slick, original visual style. The fighters are chunky, chibi-like and traditionally animated, with loads of entertaining attack moves and expressions to enjoy. It’s a lighthearted, modern take on the 2D brawler.

Fun, diverse locations

Brawl Quest takes you across all sorts of suitably seedy settings and run-down corners. Punch your way across thug-filled warehouses, scrapyards and even dodgy TV stations. Plus, how many games have you played set in the Philippines?

Casual beat-‘em-up

This isn’t one of those obscenely difficult brawlers from back in the day, nor the kind of mobile game you have to spend every waking moment grinding in. Brawl Quest is made for casually dipping in and out, wherever you are; it’s a beat-‘em-up-as-you-go. The simple swipe controls and special attack buttons mean you can even play one handed.

Free to play, in a good way

Free-to-play games on the mobile often get a hard time for endless adverts and skewing things in favour of the big spenders. But Brawl Quest doesn’t bury you in ads after every level, and you don’t have to spend a penny to clear all the stages. You can watch video ads as a reward, or buy gems from the in-game store at a fair rate — or choose not to, and still play to your heart’s content.

Plenty to look forward to

ThinkBIT apparently has quite a few additions in the pipeline to look forward to. There will be brand new areas and stages added, special in-game events to participate in and more. So what better time to start brawling?

Download Brawl Quest for free from Google Play.